Declaration of Competence

Declaration of Competence
The information below relates generally to the Declaration of Competence model for pharmacy professionals (Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technicians). Please note that for the commissioned EHC, Chlamydia and Champix services only the pharmacist can provide the service.

More details on the Declaration of Competence Model for community pharmacy are available on the CPPE website:

The Declaration of Competence (DoC) model has been developed to support you in assuring commissioners that you are service-ready and have the appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver high-quality, consistent services. Many commissioners are now including the DoC model in their service specifications, service level agreements and patient group directions.

The frameworks include details of available learning mapped to a range of core competencies. In addition to this it is expected that pharmacists / pharmacy technicians practice within the GPhC Standards of Conduct, Ethics and Performance and are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. In signing a self-declaration form pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be expected to uphold the core GPhC professional obligations about honesty and integrity.

Pharmacy professionals are expected to complete the suggested learning programmes available from CPPE or equivalent; work through the self-assessment tool to review their competencies; identify any gaps in their competency and re-visit the learning programmes if necessary. Finally, if they are able to answer ‘yes’ to all of the self-assessment questions they can print and sign the declaration certificate from the CPPE website.

The model also requires pharmacy professionals to be responsible for reassessing their competence to deliver a service at least once every three years. This should involve revisiting the self-assessment of core competences, reflecting on each competency and identifying personal learning needs to assure self-declaration again at this point. Where changes are introduced to the commissioned service, pharmacists / pharmacy technicians and their staff will need to update themselves as part of their usual continuing professional development.

Under the Declaration of Competence model a pharmacy professional does not have their training / suitability to provide a service checked and authorised by another person / organisation. The responsibility to ensure that you have the up-to-date knowledge and skills relevant to the role you are undertaking, to understand the limits of your professional competence and to identify areas for further development lies with you, the registered pharmacy professional. You are accountable for ensuring that you have met the skills and knowledge and could demonstrate your competence if requested to do so.